#bus #accident #Nicaragua #killed #people #Venezuelans
A traffic accident in northern Nicaragua killed 16 people, including 13 Venezuelans believed to be migrants, police said on Thursday.
The accident, which injured another 47 people, happened late Wednesday at an unsafe intersection on the Panamericana highway in Esteli department.
“Sixteen people died, including five women and 11 men — 13 Venezuelan nationals, one Nicaraguan and two who have yet to be identified,” the national police said in a statement, describing the accident as a “total disaster.”
Officials believe the incident happened when a bus hit two cars at high speed.
“As a result of the collision and the excessive speed, the bus driver lost control and (the bus) fell into a ravine,” the police statement said.
On Thursday, the bus remained upside down in the 80 meter deep gorge, said an AFP reporter on site.
The bus driver was arrested.
There were “a lot of injuries, people screaming, some calling for their companions, children – it’s painful,” said local resident Mario Jose Rugama.
“Those poor people how they screamed – they came out with broken bones, covered in oil because the bus overturned … so people got bathed in hot oil.”
Many migrants trying to get to the United States pass through Nicaragua and other countries in Central America.
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